The occupants of motor vehicles often seek a more comfortable riding position by resting an arm upon the nearest door. Since the arm rests provided by automobile manufacturers are typically designed and positioned to serve more as door handles than as comfortable arm rests, many vehicle occupants choose to rest an arm on top of the door at the base of the window.
Although this portion of a vehicle door may be better positioned to serve as an arm rest, the upper surface of the door is usually hard, with protruding hardware and a channel for the window. On some vehicles very little flat surface area is available atop a door when the window is rolled up. The vehicle occupant may attempt to compensate by wedging an elbow against the window. Even when the window is open, however, resting an arm on such a surface may quickly become uncomfortable and may lead to injuries, especially for long-distance travelers such as truck drivers.
Attempts have been made to create a temporary, easily-installed, more comfortable upper door surface by attaching a narrow, stiff strip of material to a wider, essentially parallel cushioned strip. The narrow strip is inserted between the inner side of the door window and inner edge of the window channel, affixing the apparatus to the door while allowing the wider, cushioned strip to hang over the top of the door and down into the passenger compartment. This apparatus adds cushioning but does little to enhance the support provided by the top of the door.
Significantly improved support can be provided by a rigid platform. However, a rigid platform is inherently more difficult to adapt to different door shapes without permanently securing the platform to a door, and permanent modifications of vehicle doors are not practical or desirable for most vehicle owners. A preferred design would provide a nearly level, rigid platform that is long and wide-enough to rest an arm comfortably. The platform would be affixed easily and securely to any vehicle door without tools or modifications to the door, yet would be instantly removable.